Living the simple life in Princeton has offered us rewards that I would like to share with all who care to stop in and see. From natures outdoor beauty to indoor cooking and everything in between. Welcome to my very special world in rural Wisconsin.

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Saturday, October 11, 2014

The Pesky Green Cricket

Ok, now I understand. Almost three weeks ago I wrote about my daughter having crickets in her basement. She attracted them with dog food and duct tape. I mentioned in the blog that crickets didn't bother me, but they were annoying to her.

I have changed my mind. A few nights ago when I went to bed, I heard chirp, chirp, chirp. I got up and tracked the sound to the kitchen. As I got closer to the area around our stove, the sound stopped. I waited, and it started again. This time it sounded like it was coming from the outlet next to the stove. I thought there was something wrong with the outlet, so I pulled the plug and went back to bed. The chirping started again, and I got up again. I couldn't find the cause. I can't even tell you how many times I got up that night. Each time when I turned on the light, the sound stopped. About 5:00 am the sound stopped. I was exhausted the next day, but pretty much forgot about it. The next night the same thing happened. This time my husband heard it. He thought it was on the other side of the kitchen. He came to the conclusion it was a cricket in our house. After a thorough search we weren't going to stay up any longer so I turned the sound machine up higher and shut the bedroom door. The next night it was the same thing except the sound came from the cold air return in our hallway. I tried the duct tape trick, but because we don't have a dog or dog food I put a couple pretzels on it. I took off the cold air return vent cover and placed the trap in the duct. The next day there was nothing on the tape. By now I am ready to do anything to get rid of that pesky insect. It was the fourth night. I had lost my patience. The chirping started after the house was settled down for the night, and it was quiet. I bounded out of bed. My husband was sound asleep. I went downstairs and grabbed whatever aerosol insect spray I could find. Then I waited. This time the sound was coming from near the ceiling where the wall met the log trim. I started spraying like a crazy woman. The spray was running down the wall and out popped a cricket. Not just any cricket, a GREEN cricket. I didn't even know there were green crickets. It looked a little like a grasshopper. I saw it sail out of the wall, land on the floor and that's the last I saw of it. It either shriveled up like the witch from the Wizard of Oz or it hopped away. I never heard it again, but the next morning I found this on a watering jug I had on the porch. Maybe it's the bothersome cricket or his friend waiting outside our front door for his return. I think it's going to be a long wait. I did hear one out in the yard today, but so far we are sleeping peacefully again.